Barcelona Take First Step Towards Treble With Copa del Rey Final Win Over Real Madrid: 3 Takeaways | OneFootball

Barcelona have their sights set on winning a treble this season after defeating Real Madrid 3–2 in a thrilling Copa del Rey final.

Barcelona and Real Madrid faced off at the Estadio De La Cartuja in the 260th edition of El Clásico. For the first time since 2014, the bitter rivals met in the Copa del Rey final and delivered a match for the history books.

The opening stages of the match looked like a repeat of the two previous Clásicos this season. Barcelona completely dominated Real Madrid and a clinical first-time strike from Pedri gave the Catalans the early 1–0 lead. Los Blancos could not muster a response until the 70th minute when Kylian Mbappé sent a low free kick off the post and into the back of the net.

Just seven minutes later, Aurélien Tchouaméni headed home the go-ahead goal for Real Madrid. A miscommunication between Antonio Rüdiger and Thibaut Courtois, though, soon gifted Ferran Torres an equalizer to force extra time, where Jules Koundé bagged the winner for Barcelona in the 116th minute.

Barcelona have now claimed their second trophy under Hansi Flick while Real Madrid once again came up empty against their La Liga rivals. The Catalans now will turn their attention to winning La Liga and the Champions League to secure the club's third-ever treble.

Check out three takeaways from the thrilling Copa del Rey final.

A Quiet January Comes Back to Haunt Real Madrid

It is impossible to watch Real Madrid without questioning where they would be if they just spent some money in the winter transfer window. In fact, the first 30 minutes of the match told the story of Real Madrid's entire season.

Ferland Mendy returned for the first time since suffering a hamstring injury back in March and only lasted 11 minutes before he had to be replaced by Fran García. The new injury is just one in a long line of problems that have plagued Los Blancos this season, including ACL injuries to both Dani Carvajal and Éder Militão.

Barcelona had no trouble exploiting Real Madrid's weakened backline that featured Lucas Vázquez on the right flank and García on the left. Lamine Yamal out-classed García to set up Barcelona's opening goal and Vázquez was so out of his depth against Raphinha that Fede Valverde and Rodrygo had to cover for him.

A fullback, even on loan, could have changed the course of Real Madrid's season. Instead, Los Blancos were left with a backline that conceded 12 goals across three matches to Flick's Barcelona.

Pedri Outshines Real Madrid's Lackluster Midfield

The hole Toni Kroos left in Real Madrid's midfield grows bigger with each passing match. There is no one in white capable of controlling the game. There is no one looking to kickstart the attack with a through ball or by switching the field of play. Instead, Tchouaméni was all-but playing as an extra center back, Valverde was covering for Vázquez and Dani Ceballos was so off the pace of the game that he often resorted to fouling.

The distance between Real Madrid's central midfielders and Pedri was on full display at the Estadio De La Cartuja. The Barcelona man not only dictates the tempo of the game, but he hardly ever puts a foot wrong when the ball is at his feet. His precision and clinical passing is the main reason why Barcelona finished the first half with 276 passes compared to Real Madrid's 148. Not to mention it was his spectacular goal that gave Barcelona the early lead.

Real Madrid looked much better when Luka Modrić and Arda Güler came on the pitch, but it was the Croatian's pass that Koundé intercepted to win Barcelona the Copa del Rey.

Barcelona Had No Answer for Kylian Mbappe

The first half of the match was as lopsided as can be. Barcelona dominated the game and completely out-classed Real Madrid in all facets of the game. Rodrygo spent the opening 45 minutes isolated on the right wing and ended the half with just eight passes to his name. Then, Mbappé replaced the Brazilian at halftime.

The Frenchman gave Real Madrid an immediate boost and suddenly, it was Barcelona on the backfoot. Mbappé used his speed to exploit the Catalans' high line to finally give Carlo Ancelotti's attack some life. Pau Cubarsí struggled to contain the superstar forward and it was only a matter of time before Mbappé left his mark on the game.

His free kick will steal all the headlines, but the spark Mbappé brought to Real Madrid is the only reason Los Blancos even made it to extra time. The France international looked like a true center forward as he linked up with Vinícius Júnior up top to lead Real Madrid's line.

Real Madrid will wonder what the game would have looked like if Mbappé was healthy enough to start from the opening whistle. The only consolation for Los Blancos is that they will get the chance to avenge the defeat in La Liga in just two weeks with a presumably fully fit Mbappé.